Automating the food chain

THE food and beverage (F&B) industry – from manufacturing to food services such as F&B catering and retail – contributes greatly to Malaysia’s national economy. Improving productivity along the F&B value chain will enable Malaysia to keep up with demand and maximise the industry’s potential. Leveraging robotic automation is one of the most viable ways to achieve this.

The Government has introduced schemes, such as the Automation Capital Allowance and Domestic Investment Strategic Fund, to incentivise businesses to adopt new technologies. Breakthrough technologies such as collaborative robots (cobots) have also greatly reduced the barriers to robotic adoption. Cobots, which can work side by side with employees, are safer, more nimble, cheaper and more user-friendly compared to legacy robots. They are easy to implement and will revolutionise productivity and efficiency levels in the F&B industry.

Cobots are adaptive and highly skilled to handle any task which does not require human dexterity, critical thinking or on-the-spot decisions. These include cutting and weighing food products quickly and precisely, as well as picking up and placing small delicate items like eggs. Due to their ability to withstand extreme temperatures (common in food manufacturing), cobots can also be deployed under such conditions round the clock without human supervision to ensure a constant flow of fresh food.

As cobots are lightweight and compact, they require minimal floor space and can easily fit into existing production lines. They also have in-built safety features, making it perfectly safe for people to work in close proximity without having to install physical safety barriers (subject to risk assessment).

Installation cost of cobots is also relatively lower than that of regular industrial robots, as cobots can be easily programmed to be integrated with existing systems or reprogrammed to automate different tasks. With such flexibility in deployment – a big advantage for food production lines that are constantly changing – businesses do not need to invest in multiple machinery for different operations.

There is high market demand for F&B products in Malaysia, resulting in increasing pressure on food manufacturers to increase their output. Cobots offer such companies a way to increase their productivity to remain competitive without incurring high costs. Offering precision and speed, cobots can be deployed to automate food preparation processes such as labelling, packing and palletising.

A case in point is the cobot deployment by Atria, a leading northern European manufacturer of vegetarian and gourmet food products. The highly adaptable cobots could quickly and easily be redeployed to other tasks. Switching between packaging different products was accelerated from six hours to only 20 minutes. This significantly reduced downtime and enabled the company to deliver a consistent supply of fresh goods to convenience markets and retail chains that often seek round-the-clock service at competitive prices.

Overall, Atria enjoyed improved production capacity, speed, quality and cost efficiencies. It could prepare on average 228 items for delivery per hour at reduced production cost and with greater consistency in output.

Food services is another area in which the F&B industry can leverage robotics in different ways. This ranges from meal preparation in the kitchen to front-line service processes including food delivery. While such deployment of robotic automation is less conventional, other countries have taken the plunge to improve service efficiency. Malaysia’s F&B retail or hospitality sec- tors can likewise benefit from automation of services.

In Singapore where the service industry is experiencing a manpower crunch similar to Malaysia, SATS, the airport service and in-flight catering company, has capitalised on automation to improve its service standard.

Last year, it invested S$18mil in a new production line that would automate up to half of certain kitchen operations to fulfil 115,000 meals a day.

Earlier this year, the company unveiled its use of robots to assemble its airline meal trays, enabling SATS to relieve staff from its tray-assembly production line. This gave more employees the opportunity to learn new competencies to enhance their job functions while significantly reducing the physical effort required to serve the passengers.

Cobots also present opportunities for the food services industry to devise innovative applications to uplift service standards.

For example, Roboto, a prototype robotic chef that could prepare meals for passengers, is another automation being considered for use at Changi Airport.

Advancement in robotics such as cobots enables safe, user-friendly and easy-to-implement automation, which can improve business operations in many ways along the F&B value chain.

From food production to serving up a dish, robotics automation can enhance productivity, quality, cost efficiencies and generate new service ideas for better customer experience. These advantages make robotics a compelling value driver in an industry that has immense potential for growth.

SHERMINE GOTFREDSEN General manager Universal Robots (SEA & Oceania)